News/Industry
By Steve Nicklas, 8-11-25
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, as the idiom goes. What can vary is the type of apple, or where the tree is.
One variation is Apple, the technology giant based in Silicon Valley. And this Apple announced this week it will invest $600 billion into U.S. states with bountiful orchards.
The Apple commitment is its largest ever in the U.S., expected to produce 20,000 manufacturing jobs for American workers. And these are not low-paying farm jobs.
Unfortunately, Florida missed the apple cart again. Even though Florida is the third-largest state with abundant resources and suitable infrastructure (especially in Northeast Florida).
Reaping the fruits of the Apple harvest are Texas, Arizona, Utah, Michigan, North Carolina, Iowa, Oregon, Nevada and Kentucky. This is not a list for Florida to miss.
The multi-faceted projects include Apple partnerships with Taiwan Semiconductor in Arizona to produce advanced chips, with Texas Instruments in Utah and Texas to manufacture semiconductors, and with Corning to design I-Phone and Apple Watch cover glass in Kentucky.
Other companies are investing in the U.S. also, under the tariff threats on imports from the Trump administration. Diageo is opening a $400 million manufacturing and warehouse facility in Montgomery, Ala. Also in Alabama, ArcelorMittal is building a world-class steel facility.
Toyota is opening a $14 billion plant in North Carolina to manufacture car batteries. Eli Lilly will expand its manufacturing facilities in North Carolina and Indiana, to the tune of $1.7 billion.
Meanwhile, manufacturing seems to be leaving Florida. The Sunshine State economy is becoming too reliant on tourism, an industry with notoriously low-paying jobs. Amelia Island is falling into the same trap.
The reasons vary. Tightening the supply chain; massive global shakeups; and the realization that Florida didn’t make financial sense anymore.
However, Florida has attracted financial and financial-technology (FinTech) companies, especially in South Florida. These are clean industries, with high-paying jobs. But they don’t employ as many workers as manufacturers.
The Florida shortcomings appear to be linked to leadership. Former Gov. Rick Scott would visit major companies around the U.S., enticing them to move to Florida. And this worked wonders.
In contrast, Gov. Ron DeSantis is working harder to butter his own bread, trying to arrange a political gig for him and his wife. DeSantis is even fighting with Florida’s biggest corporate partner, Disney, which hardly entices other major companies to come here.
Ironically, Trump’s administration is littered with Floridians. Susie Wiles, Pam Bondi and Marco Rubio all hail from Florida. However, Trump’s relationship with DeSantis is still icy following the contentious presidential campaign.
In manufacturing circles, Florida is mostly losing business. Three major factories are closing or have closed within a few months, costing hundreds of jobs.
TreeHouse Foods, a large private-label food manufacturer, is shutting down its Lakeland plant and moving production to a newer, more automated facility in Indiana. In addition, Coca-Cola Beverages is closing its 80,000-square-foot bottling and distribution center in Jacksonville. And Jabil, a Fortune 500 electronics manufacturer headquartered in Florida, is shuttering a major plant in St. Petersburg.
Yet there is more industrial carnage, even locally. Beauty products company Revlon is shutting down its manufacturing facility on Jacksonville’s west side, while grocery supplier C&S Wholesale Services is closing its distribution center in Baldwin.
In summary, Florida’s industrial landscape is changing faster than the Gulf of America tides. There have been some notable additions, however, in Pasco, Okaloosa, Jackson and Bay counties.
For instance, Gary Plastic Packaging Corp. is moving to the North Pasco Corporate Center in Spring Hill, hiring more than 500 workers. Point Blank Enterprises is investing $14 million into a new operation at the Bay County Opportunity Park. And Williams International is investing $1 billion into a new plant in Okaloosa County to produce gas turbine engines.
However, these are small potatoes in the broader industrial and manufacturing landscape. They are a far cry from Apple and Toyota and Corning facilities. Apparently, Florida needs to grow more fruitful trees if it wants tastier apples.
Steve Nicklas is a financial advisor and columnist who lives in Nassau County. He can be reached at 904-753-0236 or at [email protected].)
The views expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Citizens Journal Florida
